January 21, 2018

Armed Man Robs Gas Station on Ithaca’s Northside, Police Say

Ithaca Police are searching for a man who they say robbed a gas station on Ithaca’s Northside with a handgun on Sunday evening, the third armed robbery in the city in just over a month.

The man displayed the gun, which was in the waistband of his pants, at Quik Shoppe on the corner of Third and Adams streets at about 6:20 p.m., witnesses told police. The suspect made off with about $200, Sgt. Matthew Cowen told The Sun at the scene.

Witnesses said the man — described as a 5-foot-7-inch black male wearing a ski mask, dark pants and a jacket — ran in the direction of the Bowl-O-Drome across Adams Street after exiting the Quik Shoppe, Cowen said. Police were reviewing surveillance tape from the store, the sergeant said.

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs / Sun City Editor

Several Ithaca Police cars were parked outside of Quik Shoppe on Sunday night as police searched for a suspect in the armed robbery.

“We got robbed,” one man who identified himself as a shop owner said as he entered the Quik Shoppe, where several police officers were combing the store with flashlights. At least six Ithaca Police vehicles were on Ithaca’s Northside on Sunday evening.

The robbery is at least the sixth armed robbery in Tompkins County since Dec. 5 and the third armed robbery in the City of Ithaca since Dec. 20.

“It’s like one after the other,” Cowen said outside the Quik Shoppe at 317 Third St. as police continued to investigate around 7:15 p.m.

On Dec. 5, a man robbed the Tompkins Trust Company bank on South Meadow Street. On Dec. 20, a man holding a gun robbed the Byrne Dairy on Meadow Street. A man robbed the Shortstop Deli on Christmas Eve with a gun. A male suspect robbed a liquor store on South Hill on Dec. 27, and the Cornell Federal Credit Union was robbed on Jan. 17.

Police encouraged anyone with information that could aid the investigation to contact the Ithaca Police Department at 607-272-3245 or Crime Stoppers at 607-697-0333.